falling into the trap.

**lisa leonard giveaway still open below!**

i'll admit it.in the past i've fallen into the trap.

you know that trap...the one of self doubt regarding my photos.

the trap of thinking that i need to NEVER USE A FLASH!

and that photos i use on layouts need to be amazing. that they shouldn't be grainy, or composed wrong. and that if my photos don't have a certain level of perfection i shouldn't share them. or scrap them.

it's ridiculous.

below i see my husband meeting his daughter for the first time. i see me telling j that we've had a baby girl. i see generations and the love they share. i see so much i could have missed if i waited for the perfect shot. i see love. period.

who cares that they are blurry. who cares if they are grainy.

i do not have time to get my camera on the perfect setting before i take every.single.photo. hopefully one day i will, but today i do not.

sometimes i say screw it and USE THE FLASH. sometimes i SHOOT ON AUTO! GASP! but i'm sorry, when i have a million kids doing a million things at once, and i have ONE second to take one photo...sometimes it's on auto. shock and horror!

sometimes i use my iPhone. sometimes i don't have a camera at all. b/c i think it can come between me and living. i want to live the moment...experience it. so sometimes i don't have a camera at all.

i am not a professional photographer. i've never claimed to be, nor do i ever have a desire to be one. i really don't know how to use PSE.

my snapshots are just that. snapshots. my life is not beautiful and crisp all the time. sometimes it's messy. and composed wrong. and blurry.

i don't want to have to edit all of my photos.

and i've gotten to the point that i'm okay with that.

because the heart of my photos is there. the love is there. the emotion.the ties. the affection. these ARE perfect to me.

i'd rather have a million messy photos documenting US than hundreds of perfect photos.

 
i'm not going to get caught up in it anymore.

you want to know something crazy? i don't think i've scrapbooked any of these photos!

photography truly interests me. but now isn't the time for me to learn how to do it the way i wish i could do it.

i'll leave the professional quality photos to the professionals. no more pressure on myself to learn how to be an outstanding photographer.

i'll admire others that are outstanding photographers, and i'll keep attempting to keep documenting our story in an outstanding way that is realistic for me.

whew! i feel better already. :)

eta: this post is not meant as a "oh, woe is me, please tell me i'm fabulous" type of post. it's a stream of consciousness post about my thought process regarding my photography as just a mom, not a pro. these are thoughts i had yesterday when i came upon the first image of me holding the phone and telling J we'd had a baby girl. i realized how much i loved that photo, even though it was not "technically" a good photo.

this post is about the fact that it doesn't matter. just like i don't believe anyone will be scrutinizing my pages one day looking for "the visual triangle" i don't believe anyone will care, or notice, that i used a flash. :)

xoxo

s

Comments

[Emily]

Stephanie... YOU capture the moment, the love, the passion, the excitement, the quirky faces and the special things PERFECTLY!!! You may not be a "professional" and you may feel like every photo isn't "perfect" but I promise you that they make my heart melt each and every day! YOU are an AMAZING photographer!!!

[Emily C]

Looking back on my favorite family photos (pre digital, way back 80's)some of my favorites are not centered,some are blurry and grainy but I love them. Thanks for reminding me.

[melissa]

i think these photos are just perfect.

[AmyJ]

Honey any photo taken is always better than one not....cherish them all!

[Stephanie Howell]

i think maybe that this post is being misunderstood...thats the whole point of what i was trying to say. :)

[Lisa Dickinson]

sometimes i pick up my camera and think "i want to capture a shot like steph does." and now i know why - because it's the LOVE that shines through your photos, plain and simple! xo

[sue frazier]

i, too, take photos and think oh they aren't the greatest, but truthfully, some of my favorite pages contain photos that are a less than stellar. lol. these are the photos though that show true life.

[Linda Trace]

I got the feeling someone made a comment about one of your photos--I was gonna rage out for a minute there!

I LOVE your photos. I think they're amazing. That one of you telling J you've got a daughter, literally made me start crying. It's so so beautiful that you ahve THAT moment on film. What a memory!

And the one of him with the twins (where he's looking up), his face is like :ummmmmmmmm ihavenoideawhati'mdoing. lol Love it.

I totally agree with you Steph, the photos we have, are the photos we have. I'm not a photographer (though i'd love to be). I'd rather have a bit of blur, or mess in the background, than no photo at all!!

I'm so glad you're not 'in the trap' any more :)

[Alex Hardy]

Cheers to your thinking ... I wholeheartedly agree. Imperfection *is* perfection! I love blurry photo scrapping! ;-)

[Sherry Cartwright]

Stephanie, these photos ARE perfect! They capture your family at and in the moment and through them you can see/feel the emotions.

While the arm up in the photo of J might be distracting or a photo error, I see it as proud American raising their hand up, giving a big ole hooah for our country's servicemen. The blurry photos of kids in motion are my fave --- you can just feel the bustle of their playfulness. The headless photo with Harper shows the warmth of your love for her.

Oftentimes, "we" see the flaws in our snapshots, but in reality, they are capturing the PERFECT moments in our lives. If I didn't scrapbook "imperfect" photos by professional photography standards, none would be scrapped.

Keep on doing what you're doing because your girls will enjoy seeing all the photos and reading all the stories you've shared. And, thank you, for sharing them. Hugs.

[Stephanie Howell]

oh goodness, no. no one made any comment. just wanted to share my way of thinking! :)

[Julie Mitchell]

Amen to that. This is very inspiring post. We can always feel the love on your pictures. If people wanted to see perfect photos, there are numerous other web sites for that.

[Kari Ann Sweeney]

Thank you for the reminder. As much as I tell myself the same thing- it's tougher in practice. You're right-a moment captured is worth 1000 words and worth all the technical flaws. I second what Lisa said. The love just shines through!

[Maria]

I agree with you!! I love scrapping great photos, but I don´t want to learn how to make them either!! So just take what we got, right!? Love your photos, especially the one with your little girl and her grandpa laughing!! You should scrap them, if there is time!! :)

[scrappyfrannie]

Stephanie, the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is so, so very true. These are beautiful pictures because you took them with all your love ...and that our sweet, adorable blogger is the truth. God Bless you and your family and one day, your daughters will look back and say..."wow, how much our mother loved us"

[kim smart]

i love the way you write!! that picture of you telling j y'all had a girl made me tear up!! what a great thing to have captured on film!

[Ally]

What's funny about this post is that I never noticed any photo you posted (Including the recent ones) as too grainy, too blurry, too off-centered, or too centered - or what have you. We are always our own worst critic. I say, "Amen!" to this reframing of thought about your photos.

I did gasp slightly when you noted you had not scrapped any of these photos! That one of Harper in the foreground laughing with grandpa(?) in the background? That looks like a pro photo to me - of someone who was creating a photojournalistic account of your life. I can't wait to see that one - and all the rest on layouts SOON! :)

[kelly]

You are reading my mind today :). Try as I may I will never be a professional photog and I am ok with that. I captured 4 generations of my husbands family on father's day WITH a flash!!! I'm sure happy I got that one and I'm pretty sure nobody will say "oh but you had to use the flash." :)Your photos are lovely though, even though I know that's not what you are looking to hear.

[Amy]

ok I have to see what you do with these photo's they brought misty stuff to my eyes as your post often do. I don't know how you capture that raw emotion but you manage it with your words and photo's every time. I recently scrapped my little ones first photo. She is babe #3 and in all that time I never had a photo right after they were born. I look horrible, the lighting is very very bad, she is screaming but I scrapped it cause I saw all the love and the pure joy at that moment. It makes me with I had captured my older girls at that very moment as well.

[Sherried]

Steph,
Thanks for the reminder to live in the moment and take photos. They don't have to be perfect. Any photo made of a memory is better then no photo at all. I needed this reminder today.
Thanks.

[grace]

I hate u! lol In a loving way. I see the first photo of you telling your husband you had a girl and I cried and cried and as I went down I saw Harper's (I think) arm and I laughed! Your pictures are beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Grace xoox

[Ginny]

I agree so much. If I waited for the perfect shot, I wouldn't have any photos. My daughter is a professional photographer & (to be honest)I use my snap-away photos more often than hers.I loved the photos you took of the girls on the slip& slide!

[Misty]

oh wow. thank you. thank you from the bottom of my heart. i tend to do the whole "well, i may be able to get a 'better' pic of him later" and that makes my heart hurt. no one is promised another opportunity to take a "better" pic and i tend to allow life to force me to forget that. thank you for reminding me that the "here and now" is all that we are promised and it does not matter how you capture it as long as you do!

blessings...m

[Holly S]

Again...we women, moms, daughters, grandmothers are way too hard on ourselves...there is this "model" out there that we think we as women need to live up to and make ourselves feel like we are less than because we can't________ or we don't_______ or we should________...enough is enough and we are enough...we will never be pretty enough, smart enough, picture-taking-good-enough, clean enough, mom-of-all-trades enough, say the right thing enough,parent the 'right' way enough, perfect mate enough...would you really want to all those enough-s??? Too much pressure for me. Bottom line...I love your 'real life' pictures they look EXACTLY like mine<3

[Jenni Hufford]

love this. love that you say to hell with perfectionism! I think that's what i love so much about you-- you are authentic and real down to the photography! love all the photos you shared- brought a smile to my face:)

[Pat]

Amazing photos! You are so right - you caught the moment whether some might feel it was rough. Love the one w/Harper with the pacifier and Sadie and the one with the grandmother! You MUST scrap all of the these!

[Peg]

Oh, boy, you just gave a bunch of scrapbookers a whole lotta loving words. Thanks for that. This is not one of my particular perfectionist things but I do think that I am a little afraid to learn more about photography because I might not do it perfectly. Evil perfectionism. I hope this was freeing for you and I'm confident you are going to free some other scrapbookers today. I hope you'll do that layout about the phone call because wow, that's an important story for a certain little girl you love. :)

[MilliD]

As a recovering perfectionist (lol), I agree wholeheartedly. Can't let that blurry photo get in the way of us remembering that moment and cherishing it.

I have several b&w photos from way back which were taken by my parents. The composition isn't great, some of them are blurry, some of them have the subject pretty far away, but you know what? I love every one of them and feel so lucky to have them!

I totally get what you're saying and again, you go girl!

[Lora]

Thanks for saying it Stephanie. I feel like I can stop stressing so much over my photos not being perfect. Love how you're so realistic about many things in life. I feel calmer now.

[Laney]

Steph, these photos are so heartfelt that they are perfect as they are. The one when J meets his daughter for the first time really moved me, and I'm not one to cry over other people's photos!

[Lora]

Also don't cha think there's a certain quality to these photos that the perfect one's seem to lack? Warmth, more telling about the time they where taken and the story of what's going on and what the people are feeling. I think as time goes by these are the photos that we and future generations will be more sentinmental about.

[Jenn C]

You just described me exactly... I have never worried about my photos and I just keep scrapping. I will probably never be published because of my photo quality... but who cares!

P.S. Proud flash user here!

[Snowbirds]

I coudn't agree more. It can be very depressing to try and get perfect photos all the time. I took Maggie's class to learn the principle of photography and composition, but in no way was I aiming to be a perfect photographer. That's just out of my league. Photography is a pleasure, not a torture. I have to tell you I really LOVE ALL your pictures, in fact if I could be half as good photographer as you, I would be very happy. You really have a way of capturing the everyday and important stuff. Those few pictures you posted are priceless. ;o)

[Stephanie Howell]

i do. i would so rather have photos like these rather than 10230129 closeups of the girls faces where you cant even tell where they are.

[tara pakosta]

I couldn't agree with you more! I use flash, I shoot on Auto, I take blurry, grainy pix where I bump my iso way up and some of my shots are plain ol' bad, but you know what? I don't care either, and I just keep shooting. I just love taking pictures period. they make me HAPPY, catching moments. and I can't believe you haven't scrapped any of these! you need to print these ALL ASAP because you are right, they do show love & family and that's ALL THAT MATTERS!!!!
big HUGS!
catch that moment, flash or not, it doesn't matter!
tara

[tara pakosta]

p.s. that was one of my goals of 2011, was to step back and get the WHOLE picture, not just the close ups, but ones that show the messy background, that tell the true story of living. I am LOVING those types of pictures!
tara

[Kelly]

Love this post and love even more, the pics! The one of you on the phone is AMAZING! I think you have a gift for photography, no matter what you say. My husband is the photographer in the fam, and it can be frustrating for me, but I've tried not to let it get to me, and instead focus on the moments with the kids, and journaling them to help remind me, because I have the worst memory! I love reading back through their journals and having the memories flood back. :)

[Pidgen]

No woe ... only WOW! great post ... I fall into the trap all the time -- thanks for the rope to pull some of us out of it .. and yes, you are fabulous! lol.

[Jonnelle]

Girl, you spoke to my heart today!
I'm guilty of deleting photos that have me in them because I don't like seeing me as a fat girl, but I need to remember it's about the moment, NOT about how I look.
Thank you for your heartfelt post (today and every day!).

[Sarah Martina]

Couldn't agree more. I had the same revelation a few weeks ago & tweeted about it. I am done w/allowing disappointment into my head or heart b/c I couldn't get the perfect shot. I don't even own a DSLR, I have a high quality P&S and my Evo. And to be honest, most times my Evo does a better job b/c it's handy and I don't have to worry about checking my settings, etc.

I love showcasing daily life in a series of photos. Maybe it's b/c my kids are small (3 & 7) and are always on the move. But I love getting the full picture.

Sometimes that means a series of a few semi-blurry photos will tell a more vivid story than just one crystal clear photo.

[Karen C.]

Amen Sista! You are capturing your story. I love that they are not the perfect professional photo. I think you have made so many scrapbookers feel better about their photo's. Thank you for that!

[Kirsten J]

I'm with ya sistah - and trust me, when you get old and your memory is failing (not quite there yet, but approaching...), you cherish any photo. While I *aspire* to be Tara Whitney (ha!!), I'm happy to point and shoot if it means saving a quick moment. All too often, that's priceless.

[Diane Knott]

I'll be honest, I never actually noticed the "technical aspects" of your photos before, I just love the way you capture "relationships" in photos. That emotion has always drawn me to your photography. I find myself trying to capture those moments, having been inspired by your photos! It's interesting to hear your thoughts on the process, but I think your real gift lies in knowing exactly when to snap the photo, so all the rest is secondary in my opinion. Thanks so much for sharing the "technically flawed" photos with us...they're perfect in their own way.

[Michele Williams]

Hi Stephanie!! As a fellow amateur photographer it's hard to remember sometimes that the photo doesn't need to be technically perfect, as that's what we strive for when we're learning how to work the technical stuff, I'm totally guilty of it as well. But I think the most important thing to remember is that photography is all about capturing a "moment", freezing time for a fraction of a second, and I think you've done that beautifully! Maybe your just developing your own "photographic style", no matter what it is your doing a great job of capturing some beautiful moments! It's one of the reasons I look forward to reading your blog daily!

[Angie May]

Yeah - Good for you!!! After reading your post, I won't be so worried if pictures are blurry or fuzzy or whatever! I do shoot in AUTO - LOL I usually have a flash and fuss at others if they don't - LOL But, you know what, sometimes flash is not good (as I have found out). It doesn't matter. What DOES matter is the fact that we have the memories and see the love that is shared and the ones that we love to look back on years from now.

Thanks so much for your posts. I love them :)

[patti]

I totally agree. Just recently I started posting the grainy/blurry/flash photos, because they captured the moment so well. And I think we're our own worst critics, because when I come here or go to another blog, I don't analyze the quality of the photos (unless I'm trying to duplicate the look) I just absorb the joy of the photo..or whatever the theme of it is.
Love you because you're REAL.

[Ally White]

I'm so glad you said this..i feel the same way. I am a just starting out photographer so i get stuck in the "my photos have to ALL be fabulous or else everyone will think i'm an awful photog" rut. I have so many photos that are not scrapped because i've worried in the past couple of years of what some random strangers will think when i post them somewhere. Photographer or not i have to also realize that no all my photos are going to be fabulous. I can't pose people in "the moment" or change my camera settings so fast that everything is perfect and in focus. You've made my day by saying this. Makes me not feel so bad about myself :) Thank you Stephanie!!

[Jill Sprott]

Hear, hear!

[Sasha]

I really needed to hear this for myself as well. It's nice to know I'm not the only one that falls into the trap. Thank you Stephanie.

[brandy]

aww so refreshing to hear someone else thinking the same way. I always thought scrapbooking or photography was to be something that was enjoyable instead i spend more time over-analyzing what i am doing, instead of simply enjoying the fact that i have wonderful memories for my kids.

[Karalynn]

I do hope you scrap all those pictures- they are all a part of the story. I was recently thinking the exact same thing. I was rummaging through a bunch of my old photos and wondering "Why aren't these used on pages?" And then I look and see a blurry spot where a foot twitched or a hand waved and I remember that I was so picky about the pictures I was putting on my pages. Thanks for your post because it's exactly the conversation I was mentally having with myself.

And I'll add that the first photo of you holding your new baby talking to J had me tearing up- you have GOT to scrap that.

[AmySorensen]

I SOOO agree! So many of us SBers get caught up in only wanting perfection. ALL that matters is that the photo and the words are matched up. Everything else is just icing! LOVED LOVED this post, so much!

[sarah savage]

Happy you posted about this. As a new mom, I find myself getting so caught up in capturing all the "firsts" and the fleeting moments on camera, so that I can always remember them (since God knows my mind is failing me!). And I'm researching DSLR's to help me get better quality images. But, I am struggling with 'how can i learn to take good pics and still be in the moment?' I don't want to miss out on truly "being there" just to capture a good photo.

I thought I would mention two books I bought recently that I'm enjoying browsing through and getting photo tips, when I have a few moments to read. One is called Mamarazzi: Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids, and the other is Your Baby In Pictures: the Parents' Guide to Capturing Your Baby's First Year by Me Ra Koh. If you haven't heard of them, check them out on Amazon :)

[Tracy L.]

Sometimes pictures ARE about the picture but mostly they are snapshots about LIVING life. In the end, when you look back on them, the ones that are a glimpse of the life you led are the ones you'll cherish most. Don't ever make excuses for those pictures and don't be afraid to show them. Trust me, those are the ones you'll love the most later on.

[vee]

I agree it is about the memories and at the end of it all those are what matter the most! I love grainy OOF photos, they are sometimes the best ones! :)

[Jan]

These photos look great to me! You should see what I work with. My children were born in '82 and '85 and I took pictures with an inexpensive little film camera. Lots of the time I had to wait months or even years to get them developed until I could afford it. Even the professional photos I have from back then pale in comparison to what the pros are doing today! The other pictures I have been working with lately are my dad's from the 30's and 40's. They are so fabulous - some are out of focus, some are grainy, some are damaged, and some are even double exposures. But none of that matters in the least - I love them all.

[Stephanie Howell]

exactly. thanks so much for sharing .i was thinking of this as i typed the post!

[jamie long]

Is this a common problem for regular people? I am so suprised I have never given a secon thought lol.

[Stephanie Howell]

im sorry, jamie...im not sure what you mean?

[Amanda]

amen sister! it's so true. the story, the photos, the fact they are documented anywhere is all precious memories being preserved. i've had a blog doing just this while also trying to start a photography business, and i'm very shy about telling others about it because i think it's not good enough. so thank you. for saying it's all okay. cause it is. :) your blog is so inspiring, and beautifully put together.

[Vicki]

Am catching up on nearly 21 years of my eldests photos. They are truly terrible in those early years but I'm not worrying about it - they tell the story and thats whats important. I always have my camera on auto - its just easier and I don't want to miss anything either!!!

[jamie long]

I just was suprised that so many people felt this way. I could see it for you because I think when you are well known there are expectations, but I never knew regular people like me felt this way. nothing bad intended, I guess the question was more rhetorical.

[tina]

i think i threw technique out the window a long time ago. even though i'm venturing into being a professional, i've never claim to be technically trained. i pretty much wing it most days and photograph my clients the way i would photograph my everday life. i think we all put way too much pressure on ourselves to take that perfect photo whatever that may be. we lose sight of what's really important...the actual moment. and yes, living the moment rather than snapping away for the sake of blogging is a big no no in my book. life is life, not a series of blog posts. iphone photos, blur, grain...it's all beautiful. i especially love blur.

[Lisa Day]

Exactly what she just said!!!

[Melissa]

While not technically perfect perhaps, those photos are perfect in the way that they portray real life, real love, real moments. Those photos evoke feelings. I felt something looking at every single one of them.

[Julie]

Great photos regardless of what society considers to be "quality"!!! I think they are absolutely picture prefect because they represent memories in YOUR life.

I was wondering if you could tell us the story of telling J via phone that you had a baby girl? I didn't realize that he wasn't present for all the births. :-(

We certainly appreciate his service to our country! :-)

[Linda Coleman]

You are documenting LIFE beautifully! Thanks for letting us be part of it.

[Stephanie Howell]

 i am a regular person. :) in the grand scheme of things im not even remotely well known!haha i started noticing this trend 5 years ago when i attended a scrap retreat. there was an entire workshop on making your photos look more professional. i have many friends who dont even scrap who are kind of obsessed with getting the settings right. i also see many layouts in galleries where the photos are beautiful and flawless, but close up and dont capture real life. just my thoughts today, hope this makes more sense to you.

[Stephanie Howell]

j didnt make it time in home to see sadie being born. we didnt know if she was going to be a sadie or a ben. :) he was in dallas a few hours away and barely  missed her being born...he was on the way home from a training deployment in california! :)

[Jen]

A lovely, refreshing and beautifully composed post. I am a terrible photographer, I just want to remember the stories, or their faces or how I felt. Thanks for this post.

[Sarah Webb]

Love these thoughts! I want to catch life in all its glory. And most of the time, glory is messy, but fun. I really want to just enjoy the time and the photos. And I don't want to be worried about dropping an expensive camera and not being able to replace without remortgaging the house. Really. I think it is possible to take great photos with a basic camera and we focus too much on the perfect photo and the huge expensive camera... I hope my chatter makes sense and you know that I truly appreciate what you are saying!

[Renee J.]

Stephanie, thank you for sharing your photos and your insights. Everything is just beautiful. It feels like a sense of freedom, too. I am so glad that Lain retweeted this. Great post!!

[Lisa]

So glad you posted this! The photos of my daughter as a newborn were pre-digital and they are blurry and they are so far from perfect, it's not even funny. But they do show how beautiful she was and I still feel the emotion of being in awe and shock that I was a mom. Even to this day, a lot of photos I take are not perfect and unfortunately, I do get caught in the "trap". But since they are all I have, it is far better for me to put them on a page with the memory than keep it all in my head and not share those amazing feelings with her (now 15 years later).

Thank you for the inspiration!

[amykatmick]

Amen! Photos are photos . . . blurry, grainy, fabulous or otherwise. I don't have a single "amazing" photo from when I was a child. But every single one of them is amazing to me!

[tammy graves]

Yes! What you said! I think that is why I love your pages, your photos and your blog so much...its just plain ole real livin' in its most raw and beautiful form...keep shootin'! The only bad shots are the ones we miss! So love seeing your girlies grow up right here on your blog! Thanks for the real, beautiful, messy, priceless love of life that you so sweetly share with us here! Blessings!

[carol in seattle :)]

Stephanie, you have *NO* idea just how much I needed to hear this (especially today)! Thank you for taking photos. Thank you for sharing your life. Thank you for being a good example of who I'm hoping to become. Just THANK YOU!

[Pandora Bracelets]

The post is utterly incredible. Appreciate your whatever you posted and all you could tell us!

[tonya boone]

i deal with this same problem... my pictures are never perfect.. but isn't that what creating is all about? scrap those memories even if they are blurry, you and your family are the ones that make the memories, so scrap those non perfect photos.. we love your creations even if they are blurry..

[Asha]

I'm obsessed with Maggie Holmes photography. She is AMAZING. I strive to me like her but fall short every single time. I try not to beat myself up over it, I just don't have "it" and have to accept that. Every picture I have I scrutinize. I have to stop beating myself up over it too.:(

[Kathy Martin]

I always admire those who can take fabulous photos, but I don't expect mine to be since I can't adjust my camera as quickly as needed for things moving at the sped of life! I'm fine with my photos just the way they are. I sometimes print a blurry photo on Bazzill card stock, the fabric looking type, it makes it look more like a portrait. Anyway, I've learned a lot of great tips from those who are better at photography than I am and occasionally I'll take a great picture. But they are all scrap worthy and our priceless memories.

[Leah Martin]

Well, lady, I have to say I LOVE all of your photos. There is one type of photography that is crisp & perfect and there is another type that knows exactly when to click that button! Personally, I love it when I see photos that capture a moment and I think your photos are great. More power to you for realizing and accepting your pictures as great just as they are! My mother could never do that!

[Jennifer]

Great post and great ideas! I find that I scrap blurry, grainy, out of focus pictures just so we get the "feel" of the day that I'm scrapping. If the kids are performing a dance/music show for me, well, then, some of the pictures will be blurry from movement!

[SAMANTHA]

your photos are real that's all that matters. Besides that I always think they are beautiful. I've been scraping for 6 years now and everynow and then I get a photo that makes me say wow I took that. I wonder what I did. ha.

[Michelle]

I'm glad you posted this! Sometimes I get a little caught up on making shots pefect and I have to tell myself to just take it and stop worrying! I've missed out on some really funny shots because I was trying to make it perfect and then I couldn't recreate it!

[Deirdre]

Such a great post. I just took the Power Scrapping course at BPC and realized the biggest hurdle for me in scrapping is wanting all my photos to be edited. I don't do much in PSE (light/contrast adjustment), but find it makes such a difference, I stall printing until I have. I so want to let that go, so I can get back into the creative flow of capturing the stories. Thanks for this post.

[Maureen]

thanks, I needed that.

[elise]

Amen!! Perfection is over-rated. My photos will always be far from perfect and I will continue to scrapbook them.

[Deborah]

I so agree with you and feel the say way, not that I wouldn't love to know how to take Pro photos...I just love having photos of those I love ♥

[Kathy Murray]

Your photos are always amazing! I wish I could take pictures like you do!

[Rachael]

IMHO, every photo in this post is perfect! Keep taking photos (perfect, imperfect and everything in between!), they are inspirational to the rest of us!

[jennifer Camplin]

So true.. nobody perfect.. wanna the best as possible.
How to redo pictures.. captured way it is!

A few years i have good camera.. still not take perfect pictures. Need to let go the perfecto.

[Abi]

this post really inspired me. I have the same problem. I get hung up on the photos rather than the moments. BTW I think you record them beautifully though! I hope you don't mind but after reading this I wrote a post with my own feelings on this subject, a way of writign down a personal goal to focus on the moments rather than the perfect photo. Thank you for such inspiration.

Abi xxx

[Kristen]

Haha I remember the one of J walking in the gym like it was yesterday. That woman threw her arm up right as I pushed the button. I remember thinking that she had ruined the photo (although I can't blame her for her excitement obviously).

[PattiP]

These are the kind of photos you will treasure through the years. They say so much more than a professional portrait can. I've been working on our family history, and I have a few photos from the 1800's - professional portraits because ordinary people didn't have cameras. I am very, very grateful for these rare, precious photographs, but I would be so thrilled to have a picture of their daily life, or of them interacting. Your snapshots tell the stories that your children and grandchildren will want to know.

[Suezi]

Right On Stephanie!
I have not been blogging for about a month or two and am now catching up with some of my favorites! So glad that I went back a couple of weeks!! My daughter and I just had this conversation last week. She graduated HS 2 weeks ago and I caught this picture of her jumping up and yelling "I Did It!" it's a bit blurry but I used it anyway for her party. Backed it on foam core and had everyone sign around it. She was not happy that it was blurry but it will always remind me of how happy she was for her accomlishments!! so anyhoo, a long story to tell you I so agree with you on every level!! :)

[Geralyn]

I think your photos are wonderful. You have captured such special moments. I am a terrible photographer and gave up scrapbooking for that reason. I would get my pictures developed and be so disappointed with my pictures that I just stopped taking pictures and have missed so many moments and memories that will never get documented. Maybe I will give scrapbooking a try again, terrible photos and all.

[Katrina Kennedy]

Technical-Schmecnical. Your photos are PERFECT. They are perfect because they are the moments and memories that no one else BUT you could capture in THIS WAY. We can get so caught up in making things right that we don't make anything at all. You make good things! I'm so glad you shared your beautiful words and family. There are so many of us who need to be reminded that it's living life that is most important!

[Barb in AK]

Stephanie, I'm just now reading this. I was sent over by Lain. This post was EXACTLY what I needed to read!!
I spend so much time trying to compose, light, and "plan" my perfect shots, that I am not enjoying the moment :-( Then I go through HOURS in photoshop els. trying to "improve" the shot, because I had the settings all wrong.
Thanks for allowing me to just stay on auto and feel the love that's happening right then and there. Then print and get on with the scrapping. That's the part of this hobby I love-- scrapping, and I must do it, instead of worrying about all the peripheral stuff!! :-)